Spiralling court backlogs
The Independent, Guardian, Solicitors Journal, Aol and more cover the rising Crown court backlogs, shown in figures published yesterday (14 September) by the Ministry of Justice. In July 2022, there were 59,361 outstanding Crown Court cases, increasing to 64,015 in July this year.
President of the Law Society Lubna Shuja said: “The terrible backlogs in our criminal courts continue to spiral out of control.
“The fact that the backlogs continue to get worse, not better, is very alarming. Even the government’s own unambitious target of reducing the Crown Court backlog to 53,000 by March 2025 now looks like wishful thinking.
“The figures demonstrate another year of failure in tackling the backlogs. Efforts to tackle crime and keep communities safe will fail if these backlogs aren’t addressed.”
Solicitor appointed to DPP
FT (£), Gazette, Global Legal Post, The Local Report and Gazette Ireland report our response to the appointment of the new Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Stephen Parkinson, who is the first solicitor to take on the role since the 1960s.
President of the Law Society Lubna Shuja said: “His experience as a solicitor over many years, and previously as a barrister, means he will have a good understanding of the many issues affecting our criminal justice system.
“We look forward to working closely with him to resolve these.”
Home Office tracking UK waters
In an article about the £3m sensor deal signed by the Home Office for round-the-clock tracking of ‘small vessels’ in UK waters, Public Technology.net mentions our response to the Illegal Migration Act.
New laws under the act will allow the use of X-rays in an “age assessment” process, to assess the age of those making disputed claims to be children.
We said in our guidance on the Illegal Migration Act: ““Breaching our international obligations undermines the rule of law.
“The act will fundamentally reduce the oversight of our courts.”
New Wills and Equity Committee member
Today’s Wills and Probate reports the new recruit to the Law Society Wills and Equity Committee, Jade Gani.
Jade founded Circe Law in January, after working at Aston Bond and Meadows Ryan previously.
Committee member Ian Bond told the magazine: “(Joining the committee) is an excellent and rewarding thing to do – it is not just solicitors on the committee; we have academics, barristers, charity legacy officers, and look for a range of contributors that can enhance the understanding of the Law Society when it comes to contributing to the policy debate on all matters private client.”
Also worth a read:
- Government rejects calls for definition of honour-based abuse – BBC
- Legal challenge of Ulez rejected – LBC
- One fifth of case law judgments missing from national database – Gazette
- Small law firms affected by higher PII premiums – Gazette
- OEP states UK government may have broken environmental law – Reuters